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Sunday, December 28, 2014

Getting Ready for 2015: Set Your Schedule

As 2014 winds to its inevitable close, boomerpreneurs are
anxiously poring over their numbers, figuring out what worked and what didn't and what can they do better in 2015.I, too, am preparing for 2015. And there are a number of changes I plan make this year. I'll bet they are somewhat similar to yours! So let's start 2015 together by looking at some things we can do next year that will pay off in a big way. The first thing I need to do is look at how I schedule my time. I'm sure you have the same question I do - how do you allow
enough time for product creation, customer service, networking, enrichment,
research, and just plain goofing off? It is possible – and these hints will
help:

1.Start with the most important stuff –
money-making tasks. You've heard the saying, “Pay yourself first.” The same
goes for setting your schedule. Start by setting aside time for the activities
that will add to your bottom line. That means product creation,
partnership/affiliate efforts, and marketing. Sometimes, this is the stuff you
don't want to do, or that seems to be less pressing, so it falls to the bottom
of the to-do list. But by slotting it in first, you will assure you don't run
out of time for this critical element.

2.Don't overbook yourself. We can be
tempted to fill our schedule to the point where if anything goes wrong, it
throws our whole day off. Build in buffers of time so you have the room to
recover if things go awry. That could mean giving yourself an extra day to
complete a report, or giving yourself an extra 15 minutes to get to your
destination. If you don't need the extra time, you can relax, catch up on
reading, or return phone calls.

3.Keep a running list of 15-minute tasks. Have a ready list of to-dos that take 15 minutes or less to complete, and when
you find yourself between projects, knock a few of these off. They could be
maintenance items, like filing papers or cleaning off your desk, or they could
be research-related, like checking out a few blogs or reading an article.

4.Protect your time. Time sucks will
gladly take away all your free time, if you let them. They'll have you
babysitting their chihuahua, listening to their boyfriend woes, and
accompanying them to the home show to check out the latest and greatest
improvements in fertilizer. The solution: Just say no! Sure, any one activity
won't take up too much of your time – but soon you'll find yourself spending
more time watering their plants or helping with their time sheet than you do on
your own projects. Don't let it happen by cutting it off early on.

5.Review your day. At the end of the day,
go back over your previous work hours. What was time well-spent? What felt
critical in the moment but ended up being completely wasted or unimportant? Figure out what went right and what went wrong, and make adjustments for the
next day.

Time is your most precious asset. Setting a schedule that
supports your long- and short-term goals will help ensure you invest this
precious resource wisely.

Time management, and figuring out what to do with our time is so important. Many do not realize how this has such a huge effect on your business. But it does and these suggestions really help a lot! great blog and topic Melodieann!